Excellent advice.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.
In my last story I wrote the entire 11 chapters just to play out a scene in one of the last two. The first 9 chapters, while very enjoyable, were actually just there to put the end in context.

While cruising this forum I have been staring at a time line for a new story I am working on and I have been considering the merits of skipping the important context and first jumping straight into the good stuff.